Learn to Dive on a Luxury Cruisewith Carpe Diem Maldives

December 2017: Travellers to The Maldives in 2018 can combine their PADI Open Water Diver certification with a week-long cruise onboard a luxury liveaboard.
The Maldives is continuously rated as one of the top diving destinations in the worldby international dive publications and awards.Made up of 26 coral atolls and crossing the equator,roughly 1,200 islands are home to some of the most beautiful, thriving reefs of rare and common coral, attracting every kind of marine life.

With a destination that is surrounded 99% by water, Carpe Diem Maldives believes any traveller to the region should be in, on, or under the ocean to truly appreciate it’s beauty. Spending a week exploring different lagoons and reefs on board an award-winning luxury liveaboard cruise, complete novice scuba diverscan now do this in stylewith Carpe Diem Maldives.

Introducing the scuba diving experience to all travellers, in 2018 Carpe Diem Maldives is offering beginner divers the ultimatedream holiday.For one week inJuly and a week in August,a 7-day cruiseon Carpe Vitawill bededicated to 20 adventurous travellers looking to obtain their PADI Open Water Diver certification. Starting in Maleand ending in Baa Atoll, northern Maldives, guests will experience the beauty of coral reefs and a myriad of fishstarting fromjust 3metres beneath the surface.

Learn to Dive cruise weeks begin with shallow and calm lagoon dives. With the fundamentals of diving firmly mastered, 4 open water dives on beautiful coral bedecked reefswill complete the certification.By the end of the week, novice divers will be confidently enjoying the mesmerizing underwater world at 20 metres below the surface. Each of these special trips will also include a snorkelling visit to the region’s annual manta ray migration in Hanifaru Bay, Baa Atoll, a UNESCO protected marine biosphere area.

Under the guidance of Carpe Diem’s expert Maldivian Dive Instructors, guests will learn the PADI Open Water theory in the briefing room on board Carpe Vita luxury cruise. Equipped with the latest dive gear, guests then step onto a dive dhonifor their first plunge into lagoon waters. With increased confidence and applied theory, divers return to themain cruise vessel after each dive to enjoy breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the upper deck. Around a long table, mealtimes quickly become an enthusiastic exchange of underwater observationsand shared experiences. Accommodation is on the boat, in twin bed and double cabins, each with private bathrooms, air conditioning, 24 hourelectricity andwifi connection.

The two Learn To Dive cruises on Carpe Vita will run July 1-8 andAugust 26-September 2, 2018.Priced from USD 2,363 for the week, the package includes:

• 7 nights on board Carpe Vita
• 3 meals daily, plus between-dive snacks
• PADI Open Water theory and practical training, as well as certification
• 3 dives daily (except for on day of arrival and day before departure)
• Use of tanks, weights and belts
• Dive mask, fins, dive computer and buoyancy control device
• Drinking water, tea and coffee

Not included in the package are one-way domestic or seaplane transfers from Baa Atollto Male International airport. These can be arranged by Carpe Diem and guests can also combine their cruise with a resort stay in Raa Atoll at the new Carpe Diem Beach Resort and Spa, opening July 2018. For cruise guests staying at the resort, three complimentary dives are included in the full-board stay package, making it the perfect opportunity to practice those certified dive skills on a thriving house reef. Stays at the resort start at USD 450 per night for solo travellers in a shared twin-bed pool villa.

By the end of eachPADI Open WaterLearn to Dive week,guests will have a dive log that begins with enviable diving in The Maldives. Since 2008, the award-winning hospitality group Carpe Diem Maldives Pvt. Ltd. has been operating luxury dive and surf liveaboard cruises,sharing the beauty of the Maldivian waters with adventurous travellers.Carpe Diem is the only liveaboard operator in the Maldives to offer diving adventures with a team of all-Maldivian Dive Masters. With the expansion into resorts, Carpe Diem Maldives becomes the only hospitality brand in the country to offer year-round liveaboard cruises that can be combined with a resort stay.

For more information and to reserve your Carpe Diem adventure, visit www.carpediemmaldives.com.